Facing the Past
by heart chan
Summary: Sakura was given a special chance by three bijuu to go back in time to rescue Sasuke. On one condition. She releases the nine and a half tailed beast, and becomes the newest jinchuuriki host. sakusasu naruhina nejiten inosai shikatema
1. Chapter 1

_Normal P.O.V._

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were down to their last ounces of chakra. Nothing could have been worse. The fact that Naruto was still trying to get Sasuke back after seven long years was amazing. Sakura never gave up either. But Sasuke never could understand. They wouldn't leave him alone as far as he was concerned. He never would understand. Never.

They were all on their lasts legs. Naruto, three broken fingers, two broken ribs and four pulled muscles. Sasuke had dozens of scratches, a broken arm, and a fractured knee. It was amazing he could walk at all. Sakura was the least hurt of them all, having only a stab wound in her left leg, which she only semi healed for lack of chakra, and a few scratches.

_Sakura's P.O.V._

'_**Why? Why won't you come home?' **_Sakura thought as she looked at Sasuke._** 'Why?' **_She could still remember exactly seven years ago on this very day, when Sasuke had left. The memory played over and over in her head as she trained daily with Lady Tsunade. She had used it and Naruto as a land mark for her progress. She always thought that Naruto and Sasuke were years ahead of her. After only three years though, she had surpassed Lady Tsunade with ease.

'_**I've thought long and hard about you Sasuke. I thought that if myself, Naruto, and Kakashi Sensei came to get you, maybe, just maybe, you'd come back. But no, you just fight us or run away.' **_Sakura frowned. She had even tried to escape the village to look for him herself. That hadn't worked out to well with Tsunade. That's for sure.

She looked over at Naruto. He was starting up rasengan. _**'That can't be good.' **_She then looked at Sasuke, who, like Sakura, had noticed the rasengan as well and was doing chidori. She put all of her chakra into her fist, in order to match her comrades strength.

'_Let's do this' _Inner Sakura said confidently. Sakura nodded.

_Naruto's P.O.V._

'_**I'll make you proud Pervy Sage!' **_

Naruto looked at his friends. Sasuke was his drive. His brother. His friend. Best friend. But he couldn't get threw to Sasuke that himself and Sakura needed him. Sakura had grown so much. He always thought she was pretty, but kind of weak. Now, she was a strong, independent woman who could take care of herself in a pinch. He knew that much. Sakura was also strong. Really strong.

He also thought that he had grown. He had mastered rasengan. He had finally told Hinata he liked her. They were in a happy relationship. Hinata was even pregnant. That's one reason he wanted Sasuke to come home. He wanted him to be the child's godfather. Hinata had agreed with it too. But Sasuke didn't know. He wanted it to be a surprise.

Naruto was leaving the choice of the godmother to Hinata. He knew she wanted to choose that. Badly. She almost cried when Naruto said she could choose the godmother. He hadn't gotten why it was so important. That is, until Sakura filled him in that Hinata wanted to do it, just simply because Naruto got to choose the godfather. He didn't know who the godmother yet, but he had a feeling on who it was.

He looked at Sasuke and Sakura again. They both appeared lost in thought. Sasuke had a ominous look on his face. Other than that, you couldn't tell his mood at all. Sakura had a determined look on her face, mixed with sadness and pity.

'_**Must be thinking about all of us. I'm sorry Sakura. For everything.'**_ At that, he started rasengan.

_Sasuke's P.O.V._

'_**I killed Itachi. I killed Orochimaru. What should I do know? I'm not going with them. I can't endanger them. Not when it comes to Madara. But they'll just keep chasing me. I have to show them I will kill them. Even if I don't want to. I don't want to kill them. Not Naruto. Defiantly not Sakura. But I will if I have too.' **_

Sasuke thought of many things. He thought of how team seven had started out. When he had met Orochimaru. When he left the village. How much he hurt them when he did. How crazy he was for going to Orochimaru in the first place. Sasuke still didn't know what he was thinking then. But he could never go back. Never.

He looked at Sakura. She had defiantly gotten stronger. She was a good medic. She was very pretty. But he would never admit it.

'_**She deserves better than me'**_ He thought as he watched her. He looked at Naruto. Naruto had grown to. He'd gotten stronger, no doubt about it. Naruto had summoned rasengan. Sasuke summoned chidori. _**'One last attack. I'd better make this count.'**_

_Normal P.O.V._

'_**This is it.' **_

They all thought that one thought before they each charged forward. Naruto with rasengan, Sasuke with chidori, Sakura with her chakra punch. They never wanted this to happen. But it did. They hit each other with a force so great it made a crater as big as the Hokage tower in Konohagakure.

At the last minute, they reached each other. Sakura was awake, but Naruto and Sasuke acted as if they had been frozen. Sakura looked around. She walked a little farther up to her friends. _**'What happened to them?'**_She thought.

"We froze them in time." a voice said. Sakura could not place it, but she felt oddly at peace when she heard it.

"Who's there?" She called out. "Who's there?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Recap _

At the last minute, they reached each other. Sakura was awake, but Naruto and Sasuke acted as if they had been frozen. Sakura looked around. She walked a little farther up to her friends. _**'What happened to them?'**_She thought.

"We froze them in time." a voice said. Sakura could not place it, but she felt oddly at peace when she heard it.

"Who's there?" She called out. "Who's there?"

_Normal P.O.V._

"Ha! Look at her! Is she really that little brat from seven years ago?" an annoying voice said out loud. Inner Sakura fumed. '_You got something to say to us, freak show? Say it to our face!'_

"Shukaku! Be quiet! We have to use her if our sister is to be freed!" the first voice said calmly.

"But why does it have to be _her_! She was a weakling, last time I saw her. Can't we use Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, or even Kakashi?" Shukaku wined. "ANYONE would be better than the weird pink haired girl with a personality disorder!"

"Hey!" Sakura said. "I don't have a personality disorder! And I'm NOT weak!"

"Please! She doesn't even know that stupid inner of hers is actually another personality! Idiot! Come on, Kyuubi! Let's use someone else!" Shukaku said.

"NO! WE USE HER OR NO ONE!" the Kyuubi roared.

'Kyuubi? Haven't I heard that somewhere before?' Sakura thought. Inner Sakura started to go through the many mini files logged into her brain. This was a reason that she was so smart and was able to memorize and practice things. She would do the physical work, while Inner Sakura did all the mental work. The perfect combo.

'_Here it is!' _Inner Sakura said. '_The Kyuubi is also known as the nine tailed fox, one of the tailed beasts. It is the most powerful of the tailed beasts, a single swipe of one of it's tails can create tsunamis and flatten mountains.' _Inner Sakura paused. '_Sounds powerful. Hey, wait a sec! Isn't that the same thing inside Naruto?'_

'Hey, your right! Huh. What do they want with me?' Sakura thought. Inner Sakura shrugged. Sakura looked around for them. 'Where are they?'

'_Hiding'_ Inner said. _' Like the idiots they are.'_ Sakura smirked.

"What are you smirking at?" Shukaku said impatiently.

"The fact that you guys are to afraid to show your faces."Sakura said to him. Shukaku growled

"You think we're to afraid?" Shukaku said. "Fine!" He roared and appeared in front of her. The Kyuubi and another tailed beast, an ox, appeared behind him. "Who's afraid now, little girl?"

"Not me, obviously." Sakura said.

The ox roared with laughter. "Shukaku, you just got told!"

"Oh shut up!" Shukaku wined. "You've been hanging out with Killer Bee too much!" Sakura smiled at them. Then she turned her head towards the Kyuubi.

"So, what do you want with me?" She asked him. The eight tails stopped laughing, and exchanged a look with the Kyuubi.

"We want you to go back in time to save our sister, the nine and a half tailed beast." Kyuubi said calmly. Sakura looked at him sharply. "She is the twin sister of the ten tailed beast, but one of her tails was cut off when she was sealed. So, she's not a ten tails anymore."

"Bet that sucks." Sakura said quietly. "But why me? Why not Naruto, or Sasuke, or someone else? I'm not that special."

"I've been trying to get that out of him for nearly a month now, and he still won't tell me. I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you." Shukaku pouted.

"We need to use you because our sister is different. She only responds well to a woman. Since you've had past dealings with beast such as ourselves, we thought you'd be able to handle it." the Kyuubi stated.

"So, wait, what?" Sakura said. The Shukaku's jaw dropped and then he started to pout even more, while muttering about "trust issues".

"I mean that our sister is a feminist at the best of times. She prefers a womanly touch over that of a man. In that case, Sasuke would not be a suitable chose, nor would Naruto, even if he can make friends with anyone." The Kyuubi explained. "We can't use anyone from a high up clan, and Tsunade is a royal pain in the ass, and so is her little sidekick Shizune. I'd rather not try them, thank you."

Sakura giggled at the words against her mentor. Tsunade was like that sometimes, but she could be very nice when she wanted to be. Mainly, Shizune and herself were the only ones who could say they'd witnessed it on a daily bases without lying. Even Naruto can't say that, which is something, because Tsunade actually views him as a son. A son who periodically gets on her nerves about something or another.

"Well, what do you need me to do? And why do I have to go back in time? What's in it for me? For you, besides getting your sister back, I mean?" Sakura asked. "You can't possibly only have one motive for this." Her inner nodded in agreement.

"The first motive is to free our sister from her prison. The second motive is so that Naruto will shut up about rescuing the Uchiha brat all the time." The Kyuubi sighed in annoyance at his jinchuuriki's latest antics. " The third motive, is because there might be a certain scroll our sister knows about, that can help everyone."

Sakura looked as though she was about to interrupt him, but she stopped when he gave her a look that said_ '_You interrupt me you die.'

"What's in it for you is that first of all, you survive this battle to go the past and save people. Second, you can free our sister. Third, you can save your precious Sasuke. Fourth, you can save plenty of others, including Zabuza, Haku, the Third Hokage, Jiriya, and a few others from their deaths. Fifth, you can keep peace with that Ino girl, plus make quite a few early friendships appear. Last, you can ask our sister about this scroll, which will free all of the tailed beasts and put them into a human form, without killing the host." The Kyuubi said, taking a long breath and letting Sakura decipher what all he had just told her.

The Kyuubi did have a lot of points. She could save Zabuza and Haku, to make sure that Suigetsu doesn't get his ginormous sword. The Third not dying would be good to, because he might be able to help get ride of Orochimaru. Then Sasuke wouldn't leave. Jiriya's death could be prevented, and maybe they'd be able to help out a few of the akatsuki members as well. Like Itachi, and Deidara, and Sasori. Even if Sasori was an ass.

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to go back in time, to free your sister, and change the past to help others, and all I have to do is free her and get this scroll?" Sakura said. Kyuubi nodded. The eight tails had stopped listening a few minutes ago and had started to mess with Shukaku again. Sakura smiled at them. "How far back am I going? And will I still have my strength? Or my memories?"

"Your going back to when you were a little girl. Yes, you'll have your strength. You need to do a couple of things for us. We took the liberty to write them on a time sealed scroll, which will tell you what to do as the time for it draws near." The Kyuubi said. Sakura nodded. "You ready?"

"Yup." Sakura said. Inner Sakura was jumping up and down, being hyper and bored at the same time. The three beasts before her all concentrated on the words of a scroll they had memorized. Sakura started to glow then she faded from existence, appearing back in time about a month before her friendship with Ino had ended. On her bedside table, where she would wake up hours later, the scroll given to her started to heat up, and the first three things she would need to do appeared.


	3. Chapter 3

_Recap _

"Your going back to when you were a little girl. Yes, you'll have your strength. You need to do a couple of things for us. We took the liberty to write them on a time sealed scroll, which will tell you what to do as the time for it draws near." The Kyuubi said. Sakura nodded. "You ready?"

"Yup." Sakura said. Inner Sakura was jumping up and down, being hyper and bored at the same time. The three beasts before her all concentrated on the words of a scroll they had memorized. Sakura started to glow then she faded from existence, appearing back in time about a month before her friendship with Ino had ended. On her bedside table, where she would wake up hours later, the scroll given to her started to heat up, and the first three things she would need to do appeared.

_Normal P.O.V._

"Uhnnn.." Sakura moaned. "Wha? What's going on?" Sakura looked around and saw the scroll. Then she remembered what had happened. She picked up the scroll. Inside her mind, she could feel her Inner waking up.

"Hey Inner. Do you think we should try and open it, or should we just leave it until later?" Sakura asked. Her voice was higher than she remembered. She got up and looked into the mirror. Her hair was sticking up in every direction. She had dark circles under her eyes. '_How about the third option? GO BACK TO BED?' _

Sakura shook her head. "No third option. Come on, just help me choose." Her Inner thought for a moment. '_Try opening it now. It might have something we need to do. Something we won't be able to do later.'_

"Right."Sakura pealed back the seal on it, and began reading. There were three things on the list.

_ Sasuke BEFORE the massacre takes place._

_2. Find Ino, stay friends, not rivals._

_3. Find Naruto, become friends._

"Well, that clears things up. Heh. Let's go find Sasuke first. Or should we go find Naruto, or Ino?" Sakura said. "Ugh! This is so confusing! What should I do?"

'_That's why you got me. Let's go. Who ever we run into first, that's who we'll mess with.'_

Inner Sakura stated. Sakura rolled her eyes and nodded. She got dressed into her old clothes. Which comprised of a sleeveless red shirt with a semi high collar. She wore dark navy blue kapris and black ninja shoes. _**(Ya know, the ones they wore, like, every day?)**_

Sakura walked downstairs to see her mother cooking breakfast. It was pancakes and dango. _**'This is the day that Dad has to go away again.'**_ Sakura said sadly. '_**The one mission he never came back from. This time we have to help him. Or, at least say a proper good bye. Maybe give him some advice on how to stay alive?' **_Sakura thought. '_It's worth a shot!'_

"Hey Daddy!" Sakura yelled and glomped her father around his waist like a monkey. "I love you! I don't want you to go one that mission! Please don't!" Her Father looked at her, and sighed.

"Sakura, we've been through this. I _have_ to go. No exceptions!" Her father said calmly. But Sakura didn't give up that easily.

"No! Please don't go! You won't come back! I just have this feeling! Please Daddy! Don't leave me and Mommy! Please!"Sakura wailed. Inner Sakura watched with interest.

'_You think he'll believe you?'_ Sakura thought for a moment.

'_**If he doesn't then there's nothing I can do. It's a top secret mission for anbu, which I'm not, nor am I supposed to know the details, so telling him how to save his butt would give something away.' **_

'_True'_

"What do you mean, you have a feeling I'm going to die?" Her father asked with concern. His wife had told him the exact same thing two weeks before their wedding day. If he had gone that mission, he wouldn't have lived. Haruno Aoi looked at his daughter.

"I just don't think your gonna come back this time!" Sakura said. She added softly, "Please don't leave me and Mommy. Please don't."

Haruno Hana, who is Sakura's mother, looked at Sakura then at her husband. "Well, you can't doubt the power of the Haruno women. I had a bad feeling, too. But I wasn't sure what it was about. Sakura's right, you can't go, you won't come back."

Aoi looked at Hana and they both shared a look. He sighed. "Very well. I'll go inform Lord Hokage that I cannot go on the mission. I'll explain to him what you have said. He understands." Hana nodded.

"Your not gonna leave, are you?" Sakura asked. Aoi shook his head no. "YAAAAY!" She grabbed a couple of dango sticks hugged her mother and father and left with a happy feeling, knowing she had just saved the first life. She walked down the street. It was a Saturday, so the academy was out for the weekend. Sasuke would be at home. Ino would be at the flower shop, which was her home, and Naruto would be at Ichiraku's.

Sakura walked down the street, not really heading to any of the places she had just thought of in her mind. She was just walking. Enjoying being so young again. Enjoying that her friends weren't trying to kill each other anymore. In fact, they barely knew each other. Oh, well. Sakura looked up at the place she had unconsciously arrived at. It was Ichiraku's. _**'I guess Naruto is first.'**_

She saw Naruto slurping down ramen after ramen. He was already on his fifth bowl. Sakura rolled her eyes. She sat down next to him at the bar. "One miso ramen please." She said to Teuchi. He nodded and him and Ayame got to work. She looked over to Naruto. He was staring at her between mouthfuls.

"So, your names Naruto, right?"Sakura asked him. He slurped up another bit of ramen and turned towards her.

"Yup. Why?" He said.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to be my friend. The only friend I've got is Ino. But your always alone, or getting into trouble."Sakura said to him. He looked at her sharply. "Your nice and funny as well. So what do you say, you wanna be my friend Naruto?"

He thought for a moment. "Won't your parents get mad? That's how everyone reacts. I don't know why. But they do. Plus that girl Ino wouldn't want to talk to you either." He put on a small smile. "None of them do. Except Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji. But their parents don't like me. It sucks." His smile became a grin.

"Yeah. I know the feeling." She smiled and said thank you to Teuchi when he brought her the ramen. "People making fun of you. Leaving you all alone. I not as bad as you have it, but it's still an understanding. So what do you say? Be my friend?" she offered for a third time.

"I didn't know you had it bad to. I guess the only difference between us is you have parents and I don't... Sure! I'll be your friend!" Naruto said with a smile. Sakura downed the ramen she ordered in thirty seconds. "How did you do that so fast?"

"I learned it from a family member." Sakura said, smiling. It wasn't the exact truth, seeing as how they weren't really related, but they considered each other siblings, so it was close enough. "Come on. You wanna go see Ino right now?" Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "Just to meet her. Become friends, you know?" he sighed and nodded.

Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him toward Yamanaka Flower Shop. She turned to look at him and saw a faint blush on his cheeks. Inner Sakura laughed. _'Aw! He likes us!' _Sakura rolled her eyes and let go of Narutos hand. "INO!"

"Huh? Oh. Hey Sakura! Huh? Why'd you bring him?" Ino asked. Sakura looked at her. "Because I want to be his friend. He was alone. Like I was before. Please accept him Ino! Please!" Sakura pleaded. Ino's eyes softened at those words.

"Oh alright. Sheesh." Ino said. "So, your names Naruto, right?" He nodded. "Cool. Hey, do you guys wanna come with me? I'm going across town so that I can deliver some flowers. But I hate going there alone, even in the daytime. It's creepy!" Sakura giggled at Ino as she pouted.

"Alright Ino. Let's go. Naruto, do you want to come?" Sakura asked him. He thought for a second.

"Yeah, sure. I didn't have anything else planned today." Naruto said with a grin. Ino smiled and Sakura giggled at Ino. She had this dreamy look on her face all of the sudden. "What are you looking at Ino?"

"It's Sasuke!" Ino said. Sakura and Naruto looked out the window. Sasuke and his mom had just walked into the store. She was beautiful. Long dark hair and dark sparkling eyes. Sasuke was right behind her. He saw Naruto, and then Ino and Sakura and scowled. _**'He looks cute when he does that.' **_

"Hello there. Are you running the shop for your mother, Ino?" Sasuke's mother asked. Ino nodded. "What can I do for you Mrs. Uchiha?" The older woman laughed. It sounded like chimes, or bells. "Call me Mikoto. Now, I need..." Sakura wandered off into another part of the shop. It held medic plants and poisons. She wasn't supposed to be here. But she couldn't help but feel at home around these. Sakura picked up some lavender and dried cherry blossoms. She had just enough money to buy these and one other.

Sakura looked around this part of the shop for a couple of minutes before she found it. It was a powdery substance. It glittered and had a purple tint. Poison. Extremely deadly if not used correctly. She picked up a bag and turned around, only to bump into someone else. She fell onto her butt. So did the other person. She looked up. It was Sasuke.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you." Sakura apologized. She held put her hand. Sasuke took it. She pulled him up.

"What do you need those for? Trying to poison someone?"Sasuke joked. Sakura silently gaped at him. He must have not been so closed off before the massacre.

"No! I'm making a special type of tea." Sakura said calmly. "If you mix these together just right with a few other ingredients, it makes the perfect cure for headaches, sore throat, upset stomach. All sorts of stuff." Sasuke looked at her. "I learned it from my..."She stopped for a second.

'_**Do you think Lady Tsunade would be mad if I called her my grandma?' **_Sakura thought. Her inner laughed. '_What she don't know won't hurt her.'_

"Grandma. I learned it from my grandma." Sakura said. Sasuke nodded. They walked back to the main part of the shop. Mikoto had just finished paying.

"See ya around, I guess." Sasuke mumbled. Sakura smiled and nodded. He managed a small smile before he left with his mom.

"So, Ino!" Sakura said, putting the items she picked up on the counter. "I've got the money, so as long as you don't tell your parents that I bought these..." Sakura said. Ino shook her head and rang her up. Sakura laughed and payed.

"Come on. Let's go deliver these before sundown." Ino said. Sakura and Naruto followed her down the street. "Naruto?" He looked at her. "Do you live with anyone?"

"Nah. Lord Hokage said I could live on my own if I wanted to. Besides, it's not like anyone would take me in, for some reason or another." Naruto said nonchalantly. Sakura sighed. "It's no big deal. After all, I've still got friends. I've got Iruka Sensei, and the Old Man, and I've got you two now. I guess I can say I've sorta got Sasuke as a friend too. So I'm happy."

"I'm glad Naruto. I really am." Sakura said. Ino nodded in agreement.

"You two wait here. I'll go in and give them their order." Ino said. A few moments of silence later, Ino walked out. She motioned for them to follow her. They walked past the Uchiha district on the way to the flower shop. Sakura could see Sasuke watching them from inside a bakery and sweets shop. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Naruto looked and he grinned at Sasuke, and Ino grinned with a peace sign. Sasuke smirked. Sakura laughed.

'_Your all idiots.' _Inner Sakura said, while beating her head against a wall. Sakura laughed harder. They all looked at her and started laughing with her. Sasuke disappeared inside for a second and ran back out towards them. "Mind if I tag along with you guys?"

"Sure, Sasuke." Sakura giggled. "We don't mind." They walked back to the flower shop in silence. At first it was a bit awkward, but then they slowly relaxed. They arrived at the flower shop.

"Well," Ino said, "it's been great seeing you guys, but I gotta get back to work. Later Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke!" She gave Sakura a hug and walked into the shop.

"Where do you guys wanna go?" Sakura asked. She recognized the looks on their faces at once, and almost regretted it. Naruto wanted ramen and Sasuke wanted to go train. She rolled her eyes. "C'mon."

She led them towards the hokage mountain. She smiled at the thought of Tsunade's face being up there. It was pretty funny, especially when they told Tsunade she had to stand still for five hours straight to get the right look on it. Oh well.

Sasuke grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned around. She saw Naruto. He stopped a few feet behind them, just staring up at the mountain.

"One of these days, I'm gonna be up there." Naruto said in a completely serious voice. "I'm gonna become hokage. Even if it's the last thing I do." Sakura nodded. Sasuke just looked at him.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Naruto. Don't you forget it!" Sakura said. Naruto grinned, his serious moment forgotten. "We'll both help you with it, too! Won't you Sasuke?" Sakura joked. Sasuke grinned and smiled.

"Course." He said. Naruto grinned wider. Sakura led them up to the top of the monument. They could see the sun off in the distance, beginning to set.

"Wow! Has it really been so long?" Sakura gasped. She almost stood up, but then thought the better of it. "Hey guys?" She said after a second. They looked at her. "Will you guys promise me something? I want you to promise me that you always be my friend, and each others friend, no matter what, 'kay?"

"Sure, Sakura! I can promise that! That's easy!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think I can do that." Sasuke smiled. Sakura smiled and held out her hand. Naruto and Sasuke put theirs on top of hers.

"Friends forever." Sakura said. They all watched the sunset, then headed home, promising to meet up tomorrow. When Sakura got home, she had dinner with her parents, telling about her day. Their reaction wasn't too bad at the Naruto part. It was mainly her dad, and he was just a bit shocked. He was fine after a minute or so. She excused herself from the table and went upstairs, opening the door just in time to see the scroll from the Kyuubi stop glowing.

'_Wonder what that means. Go open it!' _Inner Sakura said. Sakura walked over. The three first things had a checkmark beside them, and three more things had appeared.


	4. Chapter 4

_Recap_

"Friends forever." Sakura said. They all watched the sunset, then headed home, promising to meet up tomorrow. When Sakura got home, she had dinner with her parents, telling about her day. Their reaction wasn't too bad at the Naruto part. It was mainly her dad, and he was just a bit shocked. He was fine after a minute or so. She excused herself from the table and went upstairs, opening the door just in time to see the scroll from the Kyuubi stop glowing.

'_Wonder what that means. Go open it!' _Inner Sakura said. Sakura walked over. The three first things had a checkmark beside them, and three more things had appeared.

_Normal P.O.V._

Sakura picked up the scroll. It was still slightly warm from the new items on the list. She opened it.

_1. Befriend Sasuke BEFORE the massacre takes place._

_2. Find Ino, stay friends, not rivals._

_3. Find Naruto, become friends._

_4. Suggest to Iruka to go to Koibito Kodou Mountain._

_5. Bond with the Kyuubi Han._

_6. Itachi must know of the consequences of his actions before it's too late. _

"Oh, wow.." Sakura said, looking at the list. Iruka was no problem, but Itachi? Then something else occurred to her."Um, hey Inner? Where's Koibito Kodou Mountain?"

'_Gimme a sec.' _Inner said. She started going through all the mini files again. '_Koibito Kodou Mountain. Koibito means Lover, while Kodou means Heartbeat. Says here that there were two lovers who wanted to be together, but the girl was already engaged. So, they formed a plan to run away. It was great until right after they left, when her fiancé found out and caught up with them. They were halfway through the mountain, when her fiancé caught and killed them both. But afterwards, he could still hear their heartbeats echoing in the caves, so he took his own life to stop the madness. It's near the Sand village.'_

"Sand?" Sakura said. "That means Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro will be there as well." She bit her lip. Inner laughed. '_Think Gaara's crazy yet?' _Sakura smirked a bit.

"I sure hope not."

'_But Shukaku's so **fun** to be around.'_ Inner said with obvious sarcasm. Sakura let out a snort.

"He's not that bad." Sakura said. "He's just a bit annoying, that's all."

'_Yeah. Annoyingly stupid.'_ Inner deadpanned. Sakura laughed.

"Whatever." Sakura giggled. "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a big day."

'_Night.' _Inner yawned.

"Nighty night." Sakura said. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She soon was in a deep sleep.

The day after Sunday, Sakura was up bright and early. She needed to get to school early, because that's the only time Iruka would take suggestions on where to go for the annual class field trip.

"Good morning Mommy!" Sakura exclaimed. "Where's Daddy?" Hana looked over to her daughter.

"He got assigned a different mission. It's a simple courier mission, so he'll be back in a few days." Her mother told her. Sakura smiled cheerfully.

"M'kay!" Sakura said. She saw the time and grabbed some toast. "Bye!" She scrambled out the door and to the school. Ino was already there, and so was Naruto. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. "Hey guys. Where do you give suggestions for where we go on the field trip?"

"In the classroom." Ino said. She dropped her voice. "I suggested we go and ask for a tour of the Uchiha compound!" She swooned. Inner rolled her eyes.

"I suggested we go to IHOR." Naruto said. They looked at him funny. "International House of Ramen."

Sakura giggled and Ino just sighed. She turned to Sakura. "What about you? Where do you want to go?"

"Mount Koibito Kodou. It's in the Sand country." Sakura smiled. They gave her another look. "What? I'm curious. I mean, haven't you ever wondered what it was like outside Konoha?"

Ino shook her head, but Naruto nodded and shrugged. "Well, I'd better go and write it down. See you guys in a second." Sakura said quickly. She sped inside and nearly ran over Sasuke.

"Sorry!" Sakura exclaimed at the same time Sasuke did. They both grinned and kept running. The clip board was lying on a desk at the back of the room. Surprisingly enough, Itachi Uchiha was waiting inside talking to Iruka.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked in wonder. Inner gapped.

'_Here's the perfect chance! But how're we gonna tell him the consequences if Iruka AND Sasuke are both around?' _Inner panicked. Sakura grimaced.

'_**Good question.'**_ Sakura thought. She felt a tap on her shoulder. "Huh?"

"Come on." Sasuke scowled. Sakura gave him a question look. She followed him out. "Apparently there were at least a dozen people who put our house down. Itachi's just here to sort it out. But he said we gotta stay outside for a minute."

Sakura laughed loudly, thinking of Ino and before. Once upon a time, she'd done the same thing too.

"Aw shut up." Sasuke blushed. That only made her laugh harder. He rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'crazy girls', which only made it worse. Finally when she was gasping for breath, and he joined in too. Itachi and Iruka both walked out to see them rolling on the floor. They both raised their eyebrows.

Slowly their laughs turned to giggles, which finally retreated into smirks. Iruka shook his head and turned to Itachi with a grin.

"Thanks again for the help Itachi San." Iruka stated. "Good luck on the mission tomorrow." Itachi nodded.

"It was no problem, Iruka." Itachi said quietly. "Sasuke." He nodded to the two children and started to walk away.

'_Wait!'_ Inner exclaimed_ 'I have an idea! Flare your chakra to Itachi only, to where Iruka can't sense it. He should be so startled that he'll look back. Hopefully he'll end up tailing you, and we can tell him then!' _

'_**Genius!' **_Sakura said. She did this, and Itachi turned around slightly to look at her. Iruka seemed a bit confused and so did Sasuke. Itachi looked at her with suspicion. She gave him a sweet smile and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"Come on!" Sakura said. "Let's go write our stuff down before the time runs out!" Sasuke nodded.

"Bye Big Brother!" Sasuke said, as he was dragged away. They quickly scrawled down what they wanted. Sakura put a special jutsu that would lean Iruka towards hers without anyone realizing it. They walked away.

"So what'd you put, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. He looked at her.

"IHOT" Sasuke said calmly. She gave him a question look. "International House of Tomatoes." Sakura face palmed.

"Boys and food.." Sakura muttered. Inner sighed.

Naruto and Ino were waiting outside, talking to two boys.

'_Isn't that Chouji and Shikamaru?' _Inner asked. Sakura nodded. _'What d'you bet Shikamaru wanted to go the International House of Pillows and Chouji the International House of Food Period or something.' _Sakura smirked.

'_**Your on.'**_

"Hey guys." Sakura said. "Did you say where you wanted to go?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru's lazy drawl was the same as it had been. Or, rather, what it will be. "I said IHOP. Chouji said IHOPF." Sakura smiled, but she inwardly grimaced as Inner did the Snoopy dance.

"Cool." Naruto said. "C'mon, we'd better get to class. We don't wanna be late for Iruka Sensei."

They all nodded and went in. They took their seats. Sakura and Ino were at the very top. Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji were all at the bottom, and Sasuke was in the middle. Ino scowled when Ami sat down next Sasuke. Then again, so did Sasuke. He looked back up at them for help, but they both grinned at him and wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"Alright. Settle down!" Iruka said walking to the front of the class. "I've looked at the results and have come up with two places. Mount Koibito Kodou and the Land of the Moon. With a show of hands, tell me which place you'd rather go. Alright, those in favor of Mount Koibito Kodou?"

Sakura's hand shot up, along with Ino's. Sasuke raised his hand with them. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji followed. Next, so did most of the girls in the class. Inner laughed with glee.

'_I guess being friends with the village heart throb does have it's upsides.' _She smirked evilly. Iruka counted everyone up, for a total of 16.

"Alright, and for the Land of the Moon?" Iruka said. The rest of the class raised their hands. It totaled to 15. "Okay then. Mount Koibito Kodou it is."

Sakura and the others smiled with glee. _**'YES! One step closer!' **_She thought.

The rest of the day passed without cause for commotion. The last bell rang and the academy let out. Sakura waved good-bye to her friends and set off the rest of the way home. She sensed around for anyone or anything. Bingo. Itachi, or at least one of his clones, was right on their tail. She grinned and continued on her way.

"MOM!" Sakura yelled. "I'm HOME!" Hana's face popped out from behind the kitchen door, eyebrow twitching.

"Yes, Sakura. I can see that." Hana said. "Go upstairs and clean your room the rest of the way. I asked Ino and her mother over for dinner."

Sakura nodded and went upstairs with a snack she'd grabbed. She quickly picked it up and opened her window. Itachi was hiding just under her window sill. Time for action. She poofed up a shadow clone, who sat on the bed. Sakura put a quick seal on the clone, who immediately looked like Inner Sakura.

"_Wow."_ Inner stated. Her voice, while still Sakura's, was almost like a whisper. _'This puts a whole new level on talking to yourself.'_

"Shut up." Sakura scowled. "Anyways, we need to figure out what to do about Itachi." Inner nodded.

Outside, under Sakura's window, Itachi narrowed his eyes. _**'What the hell?'**_ He thought.

"_True. I mean, it's not like you can go up to him and say, 'Hey, did you know that when you kill your family, you tell Sasuke something that will lead to a chain of events that causes him to defect from Konoha, train under Orochimaru, kill you, and then go completely bonkers?' No. Frankly I don't want to get shot today, thanks." _Inner said. _'So what're you GOING to do?"_

"I have no idea." Sakura sat down on the bed. Itachi clung to the wall outside, shocked to the core. He was slowly filled with anger. "Let's review what happened first. Or, what WILL happen anyways. Itachi kills the whole Uchiha clan in order to please the village and stop the coup. He spares Sasuke, and tells him to only hate. Sasuke takes these words to heart and hates everything and everyone and only focuses on getting stronger for nine years. Then, when the three man cells are made, Sasuke gets put with us, Naruto, and Kakashi Sensei."

"_We beat Kakashi's little test, and then set out on the mission to the Land of Waves. Through all of this, Sasuke slowly loses sight of what Itachi told him, which is good for us." _Inner said. _" It was great until during the Chunin Exams when Orochimaru marked Sasuke with the Heaven seal. Then the 'I must have power' mantra slowly starts popping it's head up out of the ground. Sasuke starts becoming jealous of how strong Naruto was getting. When Orochimaru gave him the chance, Sasuke took off for power. He couldn't resist."_

"Then," Sakura continued. "Lady Tsunade, who had been labeled the Fifth Hokage because of Naruto and Jiriya, gave Nara Shikamaru permission to built a team of genin to rescue Sasuke. The team consisted of Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru, and Neji Hyuga. They were later joined by Rock Lee, Gaara of the Sand, Temari, and Kankuro. They are picked off one by one and Naruto, Neji, and Chouji are seriously injured. The rest of the team sustains relatively minor injuries. They are unsuccessful in persuading Sasuke to come back. Lady Tsunade has to keep sending Naruto out on various mission to keep him from going to look for Sasuke himself until Jiriya was ready and able to take him away to train him."

"_Don't I remember." _Inner complained. _"Naruto wouldn't shut up for the longest time." _

"Anyways." Sakura grinned. "While Naruto was off training with Jiriya, we trained with Lady Tsunade. Didn't take long to surpass her. Naruto came back just in time to help us save Gaara from the Akatsuki, which is the organization Itachi joined after defecting himself. We killed Sasori of the Red Sand with the help of Lady Chiyo, who died shortly after the fight. She gave her life to save Gaara, who had died when the jinchuuriki was extracted from him. After this, Konoha gained news of Orochimaru's new hideout, and that Sasuke was there. Naruto, us, and newly joined Sai and Yomato, went searching for them. Kakashi didn't come as he was still injured from using the sharingan."

"_Let's just say that didn't go well and skip it, shall we?" _Inner asked. Sakura nodded._ "Shortly after this mission, we were sent out again to help the other jinchuuriki, which were coming under attack by the Akatsuki. While we were away, Sasuke killed Orochimaru and formed his own team. It consisted of Suigetsu Hozuki, Karin, and Juugo. They tracked down the other members of Akatsuki to find info on Itachi. After defeating Deidara, they eventually tracked Itachi down and Sasuke killed him."_

"From what I can remember after that, Sasuke actually joined the Akatsuki and started to help them. Someone told him the truth about the Uchiha massacre. He had always been a bit insane since leaving Konoha, but it really came out after that. Lady Tsunade was knocked into a coma during the battle with Pain, but woke up. She stopped the Shinobi war from going any further, and Sasuke fled from public eye for one year. After sightings were seen of him in the Land of Lighting, Naruto and I were sent to bring him back once and for all. We were all about to kill each other when three of the tailed beast, the Kyuubi, The Shukaku, and the eight tails. They sent us back in time to do stop Sasuke, free their sister, and save everybody we can from dying."

"_I think that's it."_ Inner said. _" Don't you?" _Sakura nodded. _"Next, let's go over who all died, that we might actually be able to save." _

"Okay." Sakura said. "Well, we obviously can't help the Uchiha clan. Because if Itachi doesn't kill them, then Sasuke won't be spared, either. But, we can save Zabuza and Haku. Maybe we can petition for the current elders to step down, and Danzo as well."

"_Your just saying that because he's an asshole." _Inner smirked.

"Okay, so?" Sakura said. "You agree." Inner nodded. "We can also save Hayate, who was killed when gathering information on the Sand village during the Chunin Exams. Lord Third should be saved as well. Though, I guess, it would be a good idea to put him in a coma for a while so that Tsunade can come back and be the fifth. After that, well, there's too many people to name and we can get to them later." Inner giggled.

"_Impatient, are we?" _She laughed. Sakura had just joined in, when they heard a thump on the sill. _"Well, looks like he got bored." _Inner giggled. Sakura smiled slightly, but then frowned. Itachi looked murderous.

"Itachi." Sakura said. "Assuming you heard all that, I'm not going to say it all again."

"_Yeah, cause it's a freaking mouth-full." _Inner smirked.

"What are you two going on about?"Itachi asked quietly, giving off a killing intent. "What are you in the first place? How is your chakra so large, as yesterday it was small and nonexistent?"

"Well, Itachi." Sakura started. "Also assuming you did your research before starting to follow me, you know that my name is Sakura Haruno, and that my body is six years old. My parents are Hana and Aoi Haruno. What you don't know, is that my mind is nineteen. This black and white character over here is Inner Sakura. Apparently, she's another personality. Or at least, that's what Shukaku said."

"_I prefer mind buddy, thank you."_ Inner huffed indignantly. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sakura said. "We were sent back in time to do some things by way of a time-sealed scroll. Telling you the consequences of your actions. Which happen to include killing your clan."

"_Telling Sasuke to basically screw the rest of his life and make a goal to get stronger and kill you."_ Inner added.

"Among other things." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"And why should I believe you?" Itachi gritted his teeth. He already knew what the little girl said was probably true, but he wanted to make sure of something.

"Because we're trying to help you." Sakura said simply. "Sasuke's probably gonna wanna kill you anyways, but by not telling him to do so on purpose will really help us in the long run. He won't go crazy or anything."

Itachi thought for a moment, before staring at her. "If your in your childhood body, then what do you look like when your older?"

Sakura and Inner exchanged a look. Inner shrugged and poofed out. Sakura did the hand seals, dog-boar-ram, and transformed into an older version of herself. The nineteen-year old version had shoulder length pink hair. She wore a shinobi jacket, and a black skirt with a white medic skirt on top of it. The black skirt went to the middle of her thigh, while the black boots she wore came to her knees. Underneath the jacket was a mesh shirt.

"Tada." Sakura said. Itachi sighed.

"Very well. I believe you." Itachi said dully. "But what do you want me to do? If I don't do it myself, Sasuke has no chance of survival. Nor do I. They'll send the Black Ops to decimate the whole clan."

"I understand this. I know you have to do it to save Sasuke. If I were in your position, I'd probably do it too. While right now we're only newly acquainted friends, in the future he's something more to me." Sakura said. She blushed and looked away from Itachi. He gave her a questioning look, which she promptly ignored. "My suggestion is that you don't tell him to hate you. He took what you said to heart, and he despised you more than anyone we'd ever met. That caused him to slowly move farther and farther away from Konoha. He lost sight of the Will of Fire, and became corrupted by power. I can't let that happen again."

"I'm sorry." Itachi whispered.

"Don't be. I don't blame you. I blame Danzo." Sakura said loudly. "I only sorta blame the elders, and that's just because they thought they were doing what was best for the village. Lord Third didn't want this to happen at all." She thought for a moment. "Do you think it'd be possible to leave someone alive? Like your mother?"

"She's a shinobi." Itachi said. "She'd only hunt me down."

"Not if you told her why your doing this." Sakura pointed out. "A mother's love is stronger than a shinobi's duty. She'll help you raise Sasuke. That, or you could stay in the village and be a hero. You did have that option."

"No. I'm needed elsewhere." Itachi sighed. "I need to gather information on Konoha's enemies. We have too many. If I'm a criminal, I can get behind the lines and find out what I can. Besides, everything I know about Konohagure can be used as leverage against Danzo to keep Sasuke safe. He harms him at all, and I could spill the secrets."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." He resolved. "But now that you mention it, your probably right about Mother. It would be hard to kill her. I think I'll leave her alive to raise Sasuke as you suggested. Just keep an eye on her, alright? Make sure that if she starts to steer him the wrong way, you get me and we'll put her in her place."

"Deal." Sakura agreed. She poofed back to normal, her small body nearly half his size now. "When is it supposed to happen?"

"In a month and a half." Itachi said, getting up and going to the window. "I need to leave and report to Lord Hokage."

"You can't tell him about me, okay?" Sakura said. He gave her a look. "They might not believe me as quickly as you did. I don't really want to have to explain all that again and again and again while I'm here, you know." He smiled and patted her on the head.

"Don't worry little one." Itachi laughed when she scowled. "Your secret is safe with me." He jumped out. Sakura watched as he sped off.

'_**He's defiantly a lot nicer this time around.'**_ Sakura thought. _**'He actually has a sense of humor as well. I'm going to have to watch him later on. The personality change was odd enough the first time.'**_

'_Here here.'_ Inner seconded. Sakura giggled and fell asleep dreaming of the future to come.

_**YOSH! Hey you guys, whats up? Heheheh.. Havn't said anything for a while, have I? Well I kinda hit writers block for a while there. I finally forced myself to finish this chapter. Now all I gotta do is start the next one! :) lol also, I just revised this and fixed it a little bit. I don't have a beta-person because I'm too lazy to try and find one. Naturally all the little annoyances had to be fixed. XD **_

_**Please Review!**_

_**~Heart Chan~**_


	5. Chapter 5

_Recap_

"_Don't worry little one." Itachi laughed when she scowled. "Your secret is safe with me." He jumped out. Sakura watched as he sped off._

'_**He's defiantly a lot nicer this time **__**around.' Sakura thought. 'He actually has a sense of humor as well. I'm going to have to watch him later on. The personality change was odd enough the first time.'**_

'_Here here.'__ Inner seconded. Sakura giggled and fell asleep dreaming of the future to come._

_Normal P.O.V._

Sakura glanced up at Iruka, who had just announced that the trip to Mount Koibito Kodou would be on Friday, which was the next day. It would take three days to get to Sand and three days back. They planned to stay a week.

'_So he's basical__ly saying that we'll leave on Friday, get there on Monday, then repeat the action again next Friday, only we're coming back here?' _Inner asked.

'_**Pretty much.'**_ Sakura thought dryly. Inner groaned. A few kids thought it'd be smart to complain about the long trip, (which Inner fully agreed with), until Iruka yelled at them and gave them each ten extra laps when they trained out on the field later in the day. Naruto snickered when this happened.

Sakura walked out of the classroom with Ino and Naruto to the playground. Sasuke followed behind them with Shikamaru and Chouji. Naruto was telling how he'd eaten three bowls of ramen that morning, Ino scowling at how grossly animated he was. Sakura was giggling, remembering how their future selves did the same exact thing quite a bit.

Sakura ran home after school, waving goodbye to Ino and Naruto. She ate her snack, today it was dango, and rushed upstairs to start packing. She packed her clothes, and the second of her ribbons, that Ino had given her. She also packed her bathroom stuff. Her mother called her down for dinner, and when she was done, she came back up and flopped down on her bed.

Sakura poofed up a clone and Inner possessed it.

"_Excited?"_ Inner asked, resting her arms behind her head. Sakura didn't answer right away.

"..A little." Sakura said. "I'm kind of nervous. Is that a bad thing?"

"_Nah. I'd be nervous too if the places were switched."_ Inner said. "_You ready to meet the tailed beast?"_

"Truthfully no. I'm glad we have a few days." Sakura said. "How are we even supposed to do this?"

"_Maybe there's there a seal or something we have to break?" _Inner suggested. Sakura blew the hair out of her face and flipped over.

"I have no idea." Sakura sighed. "I wonder what we're supposed to do if we can't find her before our class leaves."

"_Well, if the problem arises, then you can let me come back with our class and you can stay there and keep poking around."_ Inner stated.

"That's probably going to happen anyways." Sakura said. "I think I'm going to have to let you take over with the class and I'll put all my energy into finding the tailed beast."

"_So be it."_ Inner grinned evilly. Sakura gave her a hard look.

"Don't traumatize anyone, okay?" She said. Inner smirked at her, but said nothing. "Inner.." She warned.

"_Alright alright."_ Inner huffed_. "I'll leave the puny little midgets alone." _

Sakura giggled, and stared up at the ceiling until she fell asleep.

When she woke, it was five in the morning. Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes. She yawned and went downstairs. Her father was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper and sipping some coffee.

"My, aren't you up early Sakura?" Aoi Haruno smiled at his daughter. She grunted and her head fell onto the table. Aoi chuckled and went back to reading the paper. Sakura looked up.

"When did you get back?" She asked.

"About three hours ago." He smiled. She nodded, got up, and gave him a hug. Then she sat back down.

'_**Hey Inner, did I know how to cook right now?' **_Sakura asked. Inner looked around in the file cabinets that were her mind and nodded. She grinned and got up from the table and proceeded to make ramen. Aoi gave her a strange look.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. Just a little strange to be having ramen for breakfast, that's all." Aoi said. "Neh, who am I to talk? I had barbeque chicken and rice."

"Mom needs to go shopping again." Sakura deadpanned. Aoi laughed.

"Got everything you need for your trip?" Aoi asked as Sakura slurped up noodles. She nodded. "Are you excited?"

"Very." She grinned at her dad. "Kind of nervous though. I heard from some older ninja people that we weren't on the best of terms with the Sand right now. Is that true?"

"Not quite. Things will always be a little rough when the Hokage and the Kazekage do not agree. Seeing as how they just held the Chunin Exams, and plenty of Sand passed, relations should be good right now." Aoi stated. "Do you know what the Chunin exams are?"

Inner smirked. Sakura nodded. "They are exams held in a specific ninja village that test genin on whether they're ready to become Chunin or not. Depending on who proctors the exams depends on how hard the tests are."

Inner groaned. _'Ugh that was the worst! Can we kill Anko while we're at it?'_

'_**No!'**_Sakura thought. Aoi smiled at his daughter and nodded.

"Very good Sakura." He said, just as the third member of their family walked in. "Good morning dear."

"Good morning." She murmured, reaching for the pot of coffee. Hana sipped her coffee for a few moments, before noticing Sakura. "My, Sakura, aren't you up early?"

Sakura and Aoi both looked at each other and grinned.

"What's funny?" Hana asked, frowning at both of them.

"I said the same thing to her not ten minutes ago." Aoi smiled. Hana blinked, before shaking her head. "Are you all packed?"

"Yes ma'am." Sakura replied. "I have to be at the Academy at exactly 6 O'clock."

"So you have twenty minutes?" Hana asked. Sakura's eyes widened. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall, and sure enough, it was 5:40 AM. She flew out of her seat and up the stairs, muttering the whole time about stupid deadlines.

She dressed quickly. Grabbing her floppy green hat to protect her head and neck from the sunrays, Sakura ran back down the stairs with her backpack in hand. She now had ten minutes to get to school.

"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" Sakura yelled, running out the door a top speed. "See you in a week!"

She ran all the way to the Academy. All the way, she and Inner were talking.

'_So what are we gonna once we get there?' _Inner asked. _'It's__ not like you can walk up to the Hokage, demand to see him, and tell him you need help finding Kyuubi Han.'_

'_**Hey I only did that to Gaara once'**_Sakura pouted_. __**'And you agreed, it was the only way to get Gaara out. We had to do SOMETHING for his birthday!'**_

'_Yeah yeah whatever. So what ARE we gonna do?' _Inner repeated. Sakura sighed.

'_**I honestly don't know. Like you said, it's not like we can enlist the Hokage to help us. If we even tried doing that, the Fourth Kazekage himself would probably murder us.'**___Sakura thought. _**'Of course, we could always try and get Gaara Chibi Kun to help us.'**_

'_Gaara Chibi Kun?'_ Inner gave her a confused look.

'_**What? He's completely adorable right now, or have you forgotten?' **_Sakura smirked. _**'Anyways, We'd spend half of the **__**trip trying to befriend him. Then once we told him all this stuff, he'd try to kill us because he hates being a jinchuuriki and would give NEARLY anything to get rid of Shukaku. **_

'_Yeah, let's not tell him the only way he can get rid of him would be if the__ Akatsuki draw him out, which would kill him. And then Chiyo would bring him back to life, but only if he and Naruto leaves a good enough impression on her.' _Inner said. _'I don't think that would go over too well.' _

'_**Believe me. You don't have to tell me **__**that.' **_Sakura said, rolling her eyes. Up ahead, she spotted Naruto sitting on his swing, and Hinata was quietly watching him. He couldn't see her, as she was hiding behind the tree.

'_Should we sneak up on her?' _Inner asked, smirking. '_We still owe her fo__r helping us that one time.' _

'_**How is scaring the bejeebus out of her 'paying her back'?'**_ Sakura asked.

'_Because it'll get Naruto to notice her faster, and she'll hang out with us, and then they'll get together faster, and her training will improve, and__ her dad will no longer see her as a burden, and Neji will chill out, and-' _

'_**I get it!' **_Sakura exclaimed. _**'I still think there is a better to go about it.'**_

'_Do tell.'_

'_**Not scaring the crap out of her for one thing. Let's just try to talk to her.' **_She thought. Inner hmphed, but made no protest. Sakura adjusted her footsteps to let Hinata hear her. Hinata started, and flipped around, a complete look of surprise on her face.

"Hi Hinata!" She smiled. Hinata blushed and muttered a hello.

'_Sheesh she's __so frigging shy right now._' Inner complained.

'_**Hush! She isn't used to attention!'**_ Sakura thought. Inner huffed but stayed quiet.

"Do you have everything packed?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded quickly and looked at the ground, her face cherry red. "Would you like to come over here with me? I was just gonna wait with Naruto..?"

If possible Hinata's face turned even redder. Sakura smiled kindly. Hinata nodded shyly. Sakura grinned and grabbed her hand, pulling her behind. She took her around the long way so that Naruto wouldn't get suspicious.

'_Please. That idiot wouldn't guess right if you walked right up smacked him on the head and shouted in his ear.'_ Inner scoffed. Sakura giggled inwardly. Naruto could be rather dense sometimes. Speaking of Naruto, he was now rushing excitedly towards them.

"Sakura!" He exclaimed. He looked back at Hinata. "Hey who's this?"

"This is Hinata Hyuga, she's really shy, so don't scare her, okay?" Sakura smiled at Naruto and pulled Hinata up to stand next to her, instead of hiding behind her.

"Nice to meet you!" Naruto said excitedly. Hinata blushed. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"H-hi N-Narut-o.." Hinata stuttered quietly. He gave her a bright grin, then grabbed both her and Sakura and pulled them over to the tree swing. Hinata looked ready to faint, so Sakura took the initiative.

"Did you pack everything Naruto?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Yeah I think so." He scratched the back of his head. "I didn't really know what to pack, so I just put a bunch of clothes in my bag."

"Did you remember to pack a toothbrush and some toothpaste?" Sakura asked patiently.

"Uh.." Naruto quickly grabbed his bag and dug around inside. He pulled out an old used toothbrush and flat tube of toothpaste. The bristles were matted and bent, and the paint on it was chipped and faded. "Got it!"

"..Do you even have any toothpaste left?" She deadpanned. He blushed and shrugged. Hinata shook slightly, and Sakura realized that she was laughing, though it was quiet and barely noticeable. Sakura grinned and vowed to try and get her to laugh out loud in the near future.

"Neh, you can use some of mine or Sasuke's or something, okay?" Sakura told him, and Naruto nodded.

"Thanks." He smiled, then it brightened to a grin again. "Hey Ino! Over here!"

Sakura whipped around and saw her best friend struggling with her baggage. A giant duffle bag was slung over her upper torso. She shook her head and went over to her. Together they heaved the thing over.

"Ino you do realize we're only going to be there for a week right?" Sakura puffed. Ino ignored her. "So you really want to lug all of this stuff around while we're in Suna?" She pressed. "I doubt Iruka Sensei is gonna let us just pack everything up on a wagon to travel alongside us. He'll probably make everyone carry their own things."

Ino sighed. "Yeah I guess you're right. But I don't know what not to bring! Everything that's packed is important."

Sakura snorted and went through the bag. "Oh yeah, because seven year olds really wear makeup and need um.. Girl items?" Ino blushed. Naruto gave them a confused look, and then shrugged.

"Shut up Sakura."

"I love you too Pig."

"Pig?!" Ino gasped. Sakura's head shot up.

'_Busted.'_ Inner smirked.

"Ehehehe.." Sakura scratched the back of her head. In the future, the terms shot back and forth had gone from insults to terms of affection. It was no surprise that the old familiarity slipped out. Ino raised an eyebrow, her eyes betraying the slight hurt she had felt from the comment. Sakura backpedaled.

"It's a term of endearment?" Sakura said sheepishly.

"Fine.." Ino said slowly. Sakura smiled again. "Forehead girl." Her eyes widened, and then she brightened, her smile turned into a grin. She stood up and walked over to Ino.

"Ino-Pig? These are our nicknames for each other okay? If anybody else uses it without our permission it can be taken as an insult right?" Sakura asked, putting on her best serious face. Ino stared at her, and then grinned.

"Yeah!" They both turned to look at Hinata and Naruto. The later was trying to convince the former to talk, and the former was frozen. Inner rolled her eyes, and Sakura rushed forwards. Hinata promptly fainted.

'_Oh brother.'_ Inner said. _'We're going to do something about that right?' _

'_**We'll try.'**_ Sakura thought, holding Hinata up easily_**. 'Sometimes Hinata can be a bit..'**_

'_Shy?'_ Inner supplied. _'No duh." _

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked. He had a worried look on his face.

"Yeah, she just fainted." Sakura chuckled. "I told you she's shy."

Naruto blushed just as Shikamaru and Choji walked over. They each had a backpack, though Choji's was slightly bigger.

"What happened to her?" Shikamaru asked.

"She fainted cause Naruto scared her." Sakura deadpanned.

"HEY!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought you said she was shy!"

Sakura sighed, exasperated. "Yeah Naruto she is. You just terrified her."

"Huh?" He gave her a confused look.

"How would feel if a person you'd only just met who is bigger than you tried to make you do something you don't want to do?" She explained. Naruto thought for a moment, then realization dawned in his eyes and he looked incredibly guilty. Hinata started to stir. Her eyes opened slowly, and then widened drastically when she saw everyone watching her. Her blush came back in full force. She stuttered something none of them could understand and then fainted again.

Sakura sweat dropped. Only Hinata.

'_She seriously needs to get used to us. I don't know how long I'll be able to take shy Hinata.' _Inner complained.

'_**Didn't I tell you to play ni**__**ce?' **_Sakura snapped. Inner pouted.

"How long are we gonna be waiting?" Shikamaru complained a few moments into the now awkward silence.

"Until Iruka Sensei gets here I suppose." Sakura said. "It's already six, and most of our class is here."

"Sasuke isn't here yet." Naruto pointed out. She and Ino both looked around.

"I wonder where he is." Ino said. Just as she said this, Sasuke came running up.

"Sorry you guys. I had to help my mom with something." He said, panting. They all gave him a once over. He had Band-Aids all around his mouth, and his fingers were covered as well.

"Um, Sasuke?" Naruto spoke up after a second. "What happened?"

He gave him a questioning look, until one of them motioned vaguely to his face and hands. His face flushed slightly, and his eyes turned slightly bitter.

"I was trying to do this new jutsu that my dad taught me, and I couldn't control it." He grumbled. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji all looked at him in understanding. They too had just started learning their clan techniques. Sakura, who knew which jutsu he was trying so hard to master, gave him an encouraging look.

"Don't worry Sasuke; you'll get it if you keep trying." Sakura said. "Everybody is different, so there's no point in comparing yourself to everyone in your clan." He looked at her. Gratitude and doubt were in his eyes.

"She has a point." Ino said. "My dad told me that most clans pressure the kids in their clan to learn as much as they can as early as they can, but every kid learns differently so all you can do is practice."

Choji nodded in agreement. "Mine said that chakra control was a big issue that some clans outright ignore. They think as long as the person has big chakra reserves it'll be okay with basic control lessons and then they move onto the big stuff. You have to be able to control your chakra beyond the basic stuff they teach at the academy or anything you try is going to be twice as hard."

"How come?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Because you spend a while trying to get your chakra built up, and it doesn't work unless you get lucky, so you have to try over and over again until you get the right amount. It wastes a lot of chakra. By the time you actually get around to practicing the actual jutsu you're exhausted." Sakura explained.

He nodded. They could all tell he didn't get it.

"Think of it this way Naruto," Sakura said, "you have a certain amount of money, and you spend a long time to save it up to buy something and right after that you found out you got the wrong thing, so you have to save up a whole bunch of money again to get the right one."

He grinned. "I get it!" If there was one thing he could understand from an early age, it was money.

**A/N **

**YOSH! Hey you guys! I am sooooo sorry that I haven't updated in fifty forever's, but my writer's block just hit me like a ton of bricks. I literally had to force myself to stare at the screen for the longest time just to try and come up with something to put on the page. **

**Now, regarding the last chapter. Not my best in the world. I got a few things off. First, her actual age, if I went by canon and the cap I put on how far canon went, then at the beginning of Shippuden, Sakura was about fifteen almost sixteen, then sixteen, and then almost seventeen. So, going by that she'd be nearly, if not already, eighteen, not nineteen. I saw that when I was going back through my earlier chapters. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it the way it is, or if I'm going to go back and edit it. **

**Second, I never actually stated it, mainly because I figured it was just kind of obvious, but I'll say it anyways. Everything currently happening in the manga, isn't happening. I had it to where Tsunade woke up just in time and got everything settled out, and Tobi chilled out for a while before the war could start. As far as they know, Tobi is still Madara. I'm not sure if I'll eventually make it canon or not. And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, an excellent source to become caught up on is **_Narutopedia_**.**

**Third, I put this story up ages ago. That was back when we barely knew anything to go on about Sakura's parents. We didn't know their names, or what they looked like, or whether or not they were even civilians. All we had was a disembodied voice belonging to her mother from pre-shippuden. Now, that is not the case. HOWEVER I am not going to go back and edit her parents to fit Kishimoto's description of them unless you the fans ask me too, and even then I will only change physicalitys and names. The personalities and actions thus far WILL remain the same.**

**Fourth, I realize that in reality Itachi would never have been that trusting of someone, even with her showing him her future self and telling him all this stuff, mainly because he's super freaking smart and it'd take a lot to convince him in REGULAR time, much less when he was 13. ALTHOUGH there is, a rumor type object going around that Itachi had a lover around that time… TeeHee! Lol But yeah, it fits in with my story that because Sakura knew so much about the coup, and she was able to tell him quite a few things logical and illogical, he trusted her. Plus he WAS only 13. I think that given the chance, he would've been open for any help at all to avoid the upcoming event, even if the person giving it was seemingly ridiculous. **

**Also, I just went back and read everything so I could remember what I've done so far? Yeah. Not my best work. I might go back and edit EVERYTHING or I might just leave it the way things are and go off of it. Some of the things I put in the earlier chapter are just smacking me in the face, like WHY!? Why would you put this!? They would've NEVER said this! I cringed, like, thirty times before I even finished reading the third chapter.. Ugh. Sorry. Ranting done here. Can you guys tell me whether you like things the way they are or if you'd like the other parts to be updated a little bit? Of course, I can't seem to get this chapter right either… Bah! **

**This chapter was basically just another filler. I'm probably going to start the next one off right in the middle of the journery, or almost to Suna.**

**Thank you for reading all of this and thank you for reading and reviewing! I really need the feedback in order to stay on track and everything. I get very easily distracted by sideline plots that pop randomly into my head like all the time. Please keep reviewing! Thank you sosososososossosososossossososososoososososososooo oooooooooooooooooooooo much! :) **

**~Heart Chan~**

**(PS. I know this is a really long authors note, but please just bare with me. I wanted to know if anybody would be interested in being a Beta for my story? As most of you can probably tell, I write this stuff up mostly off the top of my head with little to no regard on grammar. And if spell check didn't catch it, then you know I didn't. XD If so, then message me or something and we'll work something out. I don't really know how to go about it so yeah…) **


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